Pre-market update (updated 9am eastern):

• European markets are trading 0.2% higher.
• Asian markets traded 0.4% lower. 
• US futures are trading slightly higher ahead of the bell. 

Economic reports due out (all times are eastern): Empire State Manufacturing Survey (8:30am), Treasury International Capital (9am), Industrial Production (9:15am), Consumer Sentiment (9:55am)

Technical Outlook (SPX):

• For the third straight day the SPX moved ever so slightly to the upside after a morning gap down that was quickly bought up. 
• While the market is still moving higher, the movement in general is lacking any real conviction, more like a drift higher. 
• A break of 1495 is absolutely key in this market to get the bears motivated. 
• On the 5-minute chart there was a inverse head and shoulders pattern the formed and confirmed and saw prices move higher as a result. 
• Volume seems to be picking back up in the market. 
• VIX dropped back down into the 12’s yesterday. 
• SPX continues to follow the 10-day moving average nearly perfectly. 
• Unlike previous breakouts of prior consolidation, this one lacks a lot of enthusiasm and momentum, which should concern the bulls. 
• But based on the price action at the present, the only direction we can confidently trade in is to the upside. 
• A pullback to 1475 would likely satisfy as a pullback to the lower rising channel, and be considered healthy for this market. 
• More than 60 days have passed since we’ve seen a 5% pullback in the markets.
• Only one day in the new trading year that has resulted in us closing down more than 1%. 
• There’s not much in the way overhead of the market not hitting all-time highs from a technical analysis standpoint. 
• The channel that we are currently trading in looks very similar to the channel that we traded in last year from June through September. 

My Opinions & Trades:

• Closed out SJM at $90.73 from $90.25 a 0.5% gain. 
• Added EXP at $66.88 yesterday. 
• Added ADBE at $38.88 yesterday. 
• Remain Long FCX at $35.50, WLL at $49.27 and POL at $23.16..
• Here is my real-time swing-trading portfolio and past-performance

Chart for SPX: